Day 13. Thursday, 30th August
Salietjie (S30) beckons but this time we are by ourselves. We coffee next to a few ellies before setting off up the road. But again it is only when we meet the Sabie river do we begin to see game and birds. We stop at our favourite Nwatimhlophu lookout but today there is not the frenzied activity of Tuesday.
Over the high level bridge across the Sabie and back down to Nkuhlu where we have our breakfast before pushing on to camp.
A throng of cars only 1Km from camp alerts us to lions again down in the riverbed. Here some lionesses have their eye on a small group of buffalo. We quickly offload the girls and children in camp and Dave and I return to watch developments.
But the lionesses have lost interest and are strolling along the far bank whilst the buffalo seem quite relaxed.
This afternoon we take off up the Sabie river road (H4-1) seeing odd sightings of lion down in the riverbed. Just short of the Ntwatimhiri causeway turnoff, we turn around and then park in a shady spot next to the road for coffee. As is their want, passing cars stop to enquire what we have seen whilst others stop and search the surrounding bush. One car settles down on the other side of the road and the wife begins photographing. After a while we move over to ask them what they have seen and they indicate a leopard lying about 30m off the road.
After a while she gets up and strolls down to the river for a drink and we press on. We should have been more persevering as we are later told in camp that the leopard returned after her drink, crossed the road and settled in a tree next to the road.
Near the Lullaby rocks a large male lion crosses over the road ahead of us but quickly disappears into the bush.
We move on to Sunset Dam where we sit admiring all the usual activity from hippos, crocs, kingfishers, herons etc. and finally four buffalo that squeeze between the cars to get to the water for an evening drink.